Hat shaping apparatus



p 1952 c. H. MARRIS HAT SHAPING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET l iled April 28, 1950 INVENTOR. Ca/vspvmr/M: H #10013 BY I Sept- 2, 1 c. H. MARRIS HAT SHAPING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed April 28, 1950 arr-cams):

Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAT SHAPING APPARATUS Constantine H. Marris, Springfield, N. J. Application April 28, 1950, Serial N0. 158,704

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to hat shaping apparatus andmore particularly to apparatus for shaping woven fibre hats of thetype referred to in the trade as Panama hats. v

It is among the objects of the invention to provide improved hat shapingapparatus for initially shaping and sizing woven fibre hats which apparatus is light in weight and fully portable and requires only ordinary house current for its complete operation so that it can be set up for operation in any convenient location and easily moved when desired, which firmly supoprts a hat during the hat shaping operation so that the hat can be first manually shaped to the desired configuration and then be clamped in shaped and pressed so that it will retain the shape which it has been given, which provides an accurateform or guide for shaping and sizing the hats so that all of the hats shaped'thereon will be of uniform shape and size, which materially facilitates and. expedites the shaping of hats of the character indicated, and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, positive and efiicient in operation and easy to use.

Other objects and'advantages will become apparent from a consideration'of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of hat shaping apparatus illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the lower unit of the hat shaping apparatus illustrated in Figure 1, looking from the line 2-2 01' Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an elevational view on an enlarged scale of a fragmentary portion of the apparatus, a portion of the apparatus fragment shown in elevation being broken away and shown in cross section to better illustrate the construction thereof; and

Figure 5 is a elevational view on an enlarged scale of a fragmentary portion of the apparatus.

With continued reference to the drawings, the apparatus comprises a flat base I (I which may be a base especially provided for the apparatus or may be a table top or other convenient working surface, and a standard II secured at one end to the base and upstanding therefrom.

An arm I2 projects laterally from the standard I I near the end of the standard remote from the base I0 and substantially perpendicular to the standard and a bracket I3 is secured at one end to the arm I2 at a location spaced from the standard II and projects from the arm I2 in a direction away from the base I0. An apertured guide structure I4 is secured on the end of the arm I 2 remote from the standard I I and an elongated rack bar I5 extends slidably through the guide structure I4. The rack bar has a series It of rack teeth thereon and a gear I! is journaled on the bracket I3 at the end of the latter remote from the arm I2 and meshes with the series of rack teeth I 6 on the rack bar. The gear I! is secured on a shaft I8 journaled in the bracket I3 and a hand lever I9 is secured at one end to the shaft I8 and projects radially therefrom for rotating the gear to move the rack bar toward and away from the base I 0.. A clip 20 extends from the bracket I3. and around the rack bar l5 adjacent the gear I1 to retain the rack teeth in mesh with the gear teeth and tension springs 2| are connected each at one end to the gear I1 and at its other end to the arm I8 adjacent the guide structure I4 for rotating the gear in a direction to raise the rack bar after manual pressure on the lever I9 rotating the gear to lower the, rack bar has been released. The rack bar is provided intermediate the length thereof with a, series of notches or serrations 22 and a latch 23 mounted in the guide structure I I has one end shaped to engage in the notches 22 to releasably lock the latch bar in lowered position. The latch is urged toward the rack bar by compression spring 24 and may be manually released by a knob 25 secured on the end of the latch opposite the notch engaging end thereof.

A crown shaping block 26 is secured on the base adjacent end of the rack bar I 5. This block is hollow and is preferably formed of a light weight metal, such as aluminum. A heating element 2! is secured in the block 26 at the end of the block remote from the rack bar I5 and an extension cord 28 is electrically connected to this heating element. An adjustable thermostat 29 is mounted on the crown block and connected. into the extension cord 28 to regulate the heating of the crown block by the heating element 21.

The crown block 26 and its supporting mechanism constitute an upper unit of the apparatus and the apparatus also includes a lower unit movably mounted on the base Ill.

The lower unit includes an annular form ring 30, an annular guide ring 3| receivable on the form ring and an annular clamp ring 32 receivable within the guide ring and releasably clamped to the form ring to hold a hat brim on the form ring while the crown of the hat is being formed by the crown block 26.

The form ring 30 is a hollow, annular body of 3 suitable metal, such as aluminum, and has a hat crown receiving opening 33 therein and a hat brim shaping surface 34 convexly curved and surrounding the opening 33 at the side of the form ring remote from the base. An annular heating element 35 is provided within the form ring and embedded in an annular ring 36 of refractory material. The extension cord 28 is branched andconnected to the heating element 35 and an adjustable thermostat 31 is mounted on the form ring and connected into the extension cord to control the heating of the form ring by the heating element 35.

An annular extension 31 surrounds and is secured to the form ring at the side of the latter remote from the brim shaping surface 34 and four legs 38 are secured each at one end to the annular extension 31 at angularly spaced apart locations around the latter for supporting the form ring on the base ID. A roller 39 is journaled in the end of each leg remote from the form ring so that the form ring can be easily moved from a position on the base in which it is directly below the crown block 26 to some other position in which it is more accessible for manually shaping a hat supported on the form block. The guide ring 3| surrounds the form block substantially parallel to the extension 31 and this ring is secured to the extension 31 by adjustable means such as the screws 40 which extend throughapertures in the extension 31 at angularly spaced apart locations therearound and are adjustably threaded into tapped holes 4| provided in the guide ring 3|. A compression spring 42 surrounds each pin 43 between the extension 31 of the form block and the guide ring 3|, the ends of these springs being received in counterbores provided in the form ringextensionand the guidering, and each screw is provided on its end remote from the guide ring with a head 43 which is engageable with 'the'adj acent surface of the form ring extension to prevent separation of the guide ring from the form ring while permitting the guide ring to move relative to the form ring toward and away from the base l0. f

Hooks 44 pivotally connected'to the guide ring 3| are engageable with pins '45 projecting out from the form ring extension 31 to releasably latch the guide ring in position relative to the form ring such that the side of the guide ring remote from the form ring extension 31 is substantially flush with'the brim forming surface 34 of'the form ring. V

With the guide ring latched down by the hooks 44, a hat blank may be placed in the form ring and manually worked until its "crown fits the 'cro'wn'receiving opening in the 'for'm ring and its brim covers the brim forming surface 34 of the form ring. The hooks 44 may then be released and the guide ring will be raised by the springs 42 until it extends abovethe brim forming surface 34 at which time the'brim may be further worked until its edge contacts the 'guide'ring entirely around the edge of the brim forming surface of the form ring.

The guide ring 3| is preferably provided'as a solid body of suitable metal, such as aluminum, :and this ring has an internal annulargroove 46 which is flush with the'outer'edge of the brim forming surface 34 when the-hooks '44 are released and the heads 43 of-the screw 40 are disposed'against the adjac'ent'surface'of the form ring extension 31. When the guidering'is in this last described position the edgeof the hat'brim may be forced outwardly into the groove 46 and this groove accurately shapes the outer edge of the hat brim.

After the hat brim has been shaped onto the form ring the clamp ring 32 is clamped down onto the portion of the hat brim adjacent the guide ring 3| to hold the brim firmly in shape while the crown of the hat is being shaped.

The clamp ring 32 is a solid body of annular shape formed of a suitable metal, such as aluminum, and is dimensioned so that its fits closely into the guide ring 3|. The edge of the clamp ring adjacent the form ring is shaped to provide a concave surface complementary to the edge or marginal portion of the convex brim forming surface 34 and this ring is provided at its opposite edge with lifting handles 41 for removing the clamp ring from the form ring and guide ring assembly.

Two brackets 48 and 49 are secured to the form ring extension 31 at respectively opposite sides of the form ring and extend from the form ringextension 31 past the guide ring 3|. An arm 50 is pivotally connected at one end to the bracket 48 at the end of the latter remote from the extension 31 and a corresponding arm 5| is pivotally connected to the bracket 49. These arms are of a length such that their free or distal ends overlie the upper edge of the clamp ring 32 and they are provided hear such free or distal ends with bolts 52 and 53 respectively which provide adjustable abutments carried by the arms and engaging the clamp ring.

A U-shaped handle 54 is pivotally connected at its open end to the bracket 48 adjacent the pivotal connection between this bracket and the arm 50 and a,similar handle 55 is comiected to the bracket 43. A link structure 55 is connected between the handle 54 and the arm 50 and is provided with a stop formation 51 engageable with the arm to hold the handle in a position in which it forces the abutment 52 on the distal end of the: arm 50 downwardly on the clamp ring 32. A similar link structure 58 is connected between the handle 55 and the arm 51.

After the hat brim has been shaped to-the form block 30, the clamp ring 32 is placed on the hat brim and within the guide ring 3| and the handles 54 and :55 are then moved relatively toward each other to force the clamp ring toward the form ring and clamp the marginal portion of the hat brim firmly in position.

The lower unit comprising the rings '33, 3| and 32 is then moved under the crown block 26 and the crown block is lowered by the handle l9 into the crown of the hat to shape the latter. The hat will be thoroughly wet when placed in the shaping apparatus and the heat provided by the heating elements in the form ring and crown block will dry the hat while the hat is held in properly shaped condition so that the hat'will tend to retain the given shape after it has been removed from the apparatus.

The crown block is held in position in the crown of the 'hat 'by the latch 2'3and inorder to remove the hat from the apparatus this latch is released by the knob 25 permitting the springs 2|. to raise the crown block. If necessary, the springs may be'assisted by an-upward lift on the distal-end of the hand lever l9. After the crown block has been raised the lower unit is pulled out from under the crown block to a position convenient to the operator and the handles 54 and 'dfi'are then moved to release the clamp ring '32. The clamp ring 32 is then removed from the assembly by the handles 41 and the shaped hat may then be lifted from the form ring 30 and replaced by a new blank.

When the hats have been shaped and sized on the apparatus of the present invention they are ready to be placed in a hydraulic shaping press to give them their permanent shape and finish.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. Hat shaping apparatus comprising a base, a form ring movably supported on said base and having a hat crown receiving opening therein and a brim shaping surface surrounding such opening, a heating element in said form ring, a guide ring surrounding said form ring and movably connected to the latter for movement toward and away from said base, said guide ring being movable to a position in which it projects beyond said brim shaping surface to constitute a guide for the edge of the brim of a hat being shaped on the apparatus, a clamping ring disposable within said guide ring to clamp a hat brim on said brim shaping surface, releasable clamps carried by said form ring and engageable with said clamp ring to clamp a hat brim between said clamp ring and said form ring, a standard secured at one end to said base, an arm projecting laterally from said standard, a rack slidably mounted on said arm at a location spaced from said standard, a crown block secured on the base adjacent end of said rack and receivable in the crown receiving opening in said form ring when the latter is supported on said base directly below said crown block, a heating element in said crown block, and manually operated means carried by said arm and engaging said rack to move said crown block into and out of the crown receiving opening in said form ring.

2. Hat shaping apparatus comprising a base, a lower unit movably supported on said base and arranged to clamp a hat blank therein, and an upper unit mounted on said base and including a crown shaping block movable into said lower unit to shape ahat blank clamped in the latter, said lower unit comprising an annular form ring having a hat crown receiving opening therein and a brim receiving surface surrounding said opening, means extending from the side of said form ring remote from said brim receiving surface to support said lower unit on said base, a uide ring mounted on said form ring and surrounding said brim receiving surface, a clamp ring disposed within said guide ring in opposition to said brim receiving surface, and clamp means carried by said form ring and engageable with said clamp ring to force the latter toward said brim receiving surface for clamping a hat brim between said form ring and said clam ring.

3. Eat shaping apparatus comprising a base, a lower unit movably supported on said base and arranged to clamp a hat blank therein, and an upper unit mounted on said base and including a crown shaping block movable into said lower unit to shape a hat blank clamped in the latter, said lower unit comprising an annular form ring having a hat crown receiving opening therein and a brim receiving surface surrounding said opening, means extending from the side of said form ring remote from said brim receiving surface to support said lower unit on said base, a guide ring mounted on said form ring and surrounding said brim receiving surface, a clamp ring disposed within said guide ring in opposition to said brim receiving surface, and clamp means carried by said form ring and engageable with said clamp ring to force the latter toward said brim receiving surface for clamping a hat brim between said form ring and said clamp ring, said guide ring having an annular groove therein for receiving the edge of a hat brim, and means connecting said guide ring to said form ring for positioning said groove in registry with the outer edge of said brim receiving surface.

4. A hat shaping assembly comprising a first ring having a hat crown receiving opening therein and a convexly curved brim receiving surface surrounding said opening at one side of said first ring, means secured to said first ring and projecting from the opposite side thereof for supporting said assembly on a base, a second ring surrounding the brim receiving surface of said first ring to constitute a guide for properly shaping the edge of a hat brim, adjustable means connecting said second ring to said first ring for movement of said second ring relative to said first ring between positions in which said second ring is substantially flush with said brim receiving surface and in which said second ring projects beyond said brim receiving surface, a third ring received in said second ring, and clamp means carried by said first ring and engageable with said third ring to clamp a hat brim between said third ring and said brim receiving surface.

CONSTANTINE H. MARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,091,429 Cipriano Aug. 31, 1937 2,278,865 Cipriano Apr. '7, 1942 2,313,038 Dow Mar. 9, 1943 

